Saturday, July 4, 2009

Clue #18: The Christogram "INRI"

The clue is a hot link that leads to an article on the online edition of the New World Encyclopedia, titled "Christogram." According to this article, "A Christogram is a combination of letters (a monogram) that forms an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ. ... [T]he most popular Christograms are IHS, INRI, and the Chi-Rho."

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As the article goes on to explain, these three Christograms stand for, respectively, (1) the initials for the phrase In Hoc Signo (Latin for "in this sign," that is, the sign of the cross), or the first three Greek capital letters of the name "Jesus"; (2) Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum (Latin for "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews," the inscription set above Jesus as he hung on the cross at the crucifixion; see, in the New Testament, John 19:19-20); and, (3) the first two letters in the Greek word Christos, "Christ."

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This is the surface meaning, then: A Christogram shall appear in The Lost Symbol. However, this being a Dan Brown novel, surface meanings often are not enough. And, with one Christogram in particular, there are other meanings to consider.

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An Alchemical Reading of INRI

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Many medieval students of the esoteric, such as the alchemists, were essentially Christian in outlook and used Christian terminology. They sometimes gave alchemical meanings to Christian symbolism. (This was perhaps especially so with those who studied the documents of the legendary Rosicrucian fellowship, about whom we shall have more to say in regard to Clue #25.) The alchemists gave a different meaning to INRI: Igne Natura Renovatur Integra, Latin for "through fire nature is reborn whole," as noted here; alternatively, "all nature will be [or is] renewed by fire," as noted here.

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Medieval alchemy is not the only esoteric discipline that has used an alternative interpretation for INRI. In modern times, the same is done by some branches of Freemasonry.

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Masonic Readings of INRI

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A 'higher degree' Masonic organization, the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in the Southern Jurisdiction, has a total of 33 degrees of initiation, largely developed by Albert Pike in the latter part of the 19th century, working from earlier ritual sources. In turn, these rituals draw on a variety of sources for inspiration, including alchemy and the Rosicrucian fellowship. The 18th degree, titled "Knight of the Rose Croix" (i.e., 'Knight of the Rose Cross'), is particularly noteworthy for its references to alchemy and Rosicrucianism. (Note that the Twitter clue under consideration is the 18th tweet in the series!)

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It is public knowledge that, in the 18th degree, "we learn the Masonic meaning of the initials INRI" (Rex R. Hutchens, A Bridge to Light: A Study in Masonic Ritual & Philosophy, 3rd edition, 2006, p. 137). Albert Pike's Lecture for this degree includes the following:

The True Word is an abbreviation of the Latin inscription said by John in his Gospel to have been placed above Jesus when He was crucified -- to wit: Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudeorum, meaning, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews."

Others interpret these initials by the phrase Igne Natura Renovatur Integra, meaning, "All of Nature is Renovated by Fire," by which the sages of antiquity connected it with the greatest secret of nature, that of universal regeneration. (Source: Arturo de Hoyos, Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor & Guide, 2nd ed., 2009, p. 419)

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The Masonic scholar, Leon Zeldis, wrote about alchemy, Rosicrucianism, and interpretations of INRI in relation to the 18th degree. He noted in one of his papers that, in various rituals of the 18th degree as these were conducted in different times and places, there have been at least a dozen esoteric interpretations of INRI.

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One of the important messages of the 18th degree involves the idea that Nature witnesses the existence of God. From Pike's Lecture:

We apply reason to the Book of Nature and find a great truth written in letters of light: there is a living God. The great law that governs the universe is harmony; the will of the Almighty God, always acting as the expression of His infinite love. (de Hoyos, p. 419)

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Ultimately, the message of the 18th degree involves the importance of love for and service to humankind. From Pike's Lecture:

The Knights Rose Croix practice charity, in all its senses, and we derive the strength to labor in the cause of humanity from faith and hope. (de Hoyos, p. 421)

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These lessons and others are illustrated symbolically in the ceremonial "jewel" of the 18th degree, a French version of which is shown above.

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Other Approaches

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Other approaches to this tweet are possible. For example, the entire phrase, In hoc signo vinces, Latin for "in this sign you shall conquer," appears on a seal upon a written letter, at a certain place in the narrative in one of the central Rosicrucian documents (see Benedict J. Williamson's 2002 book, The Rosicrucian Manuscripts, p. 138). In addition, some have claimed that the streets of Washington, DC, form in one place a Chi-Rho.

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Potential Relevance to The Lost Symbol

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At this point, I'm sticking to the idea that this Twitter clue somehow references INRI as an alchemical phrase that also plays a role in the 18th degree of Scottish Rite Freemasonry (the surface of which we have barely scratched). How could this work into The Lost Symbol?

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We know that Dan Brown likes to use graphic images of words in his stories. (Think of how the ambigrams for "Illuminati," "Earth," and so on were used in Angels & Demons, and how an anagram like "how dark the con of man" was used in The Da Vinci Code.) Perhaps "INRI" shows up written in some important place as a clue. (Or even branded or carved onto someone's body -- Dan Brown has a way with his victims!) Then the alchemical interpretation (connecting up with the work of Francis Bacon and Isaac Newton) might be crucial to the proper understanding of the clue. Because the degrees of the Scottish Rite have their roots in rituals dating to the 18th century, there is plenty of opportunity to link up conspiracies dating from the time of the Founding Fathers to our own day.

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I note that the Masonic lessons of the 18th degree, regarding Nature as an evidence for the existence of God, might be of some use to Dan Brown. The idea of Science as a way to read the Book of Nature as written by God is a theme one finds expressed by many early men of science, in many lands, including many of the scientists whom Brown places within his version of the Illuminati.

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I should also say that INRI has another, symbolic importance here. The posting of the INRI sign is a crucial event in Christian history, in its own way. After all, it is what one believes about the truth of that message (was Jesus really the king of the Jews?), and what one believes happened after the message was posted (was Jesus really resurrected from the dead?), that really defines one's stance towards Christianity. It will be interesting to see how Dan Brown deals with this idea.

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I must say, though: if someone really is referencing the 18th degree of the Scottish Rite by putting a clue in the 18th Twitter clue--well, these folks are a lot more subtle than I'd thought they'd be.

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Shameless Plug

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In my book, Discovering The Lost Symbol, I shall exhaustively explain the Masonic symbolism that occurs in Brown's novel.

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[The image of the 18th degree jewel was obtained from Wikimedia Commons through Wikipedia; it was created by user Cro-maat at the French Wikipedia site. Its use here is authorized under the GNU Free Documentation License.]

8 comments:

Mark--You're insights are remarkable and a pleasure to read. I do think you are on the right track. It seems Albert Pike will be a central figure in The Lost Symbol. Dan Brown said to me back in 2003, while discussing my non-fiction book, Rebel Gold (Simon & Schuster): "My next book will be about Albert Pike." Now we wait to see if, indeed, the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite and confederate general does figure prominently, what will Dan's take be....Fascinating to us all. I know you have doubts whether Pike was intimately engaged with the Knights of the Golden Circle, as I put forth in my book. Much to explore and discuss in the months ahead!

I like the fact that it is said to feature in the layout of Washington DC and in the Vatican, being in St Peter's Square. Since there are Obelisks featured at both place, I think there could be a link to Sun worship. Newgrange is designed to line up with the sun, Ancient Egypt worshipped the sun, and the Mayan culture worshiped the sun too.

Other than that Newgrange also lined up with Venus too and the Mayans also had big beliefs of Venus.

Dan Brown could clearly go down any of these roads and he must get a lot of pleasure in seeing us trying to work out these clues as to what the story is about.

Also, back to Kryptos, I read somewhere that The Lost Symbol could be referring to the incorrect solution to the 2nd part of Kryptos. so we could be going down the wrong road completely!!

getler99: Thank you so much for that tidbit about your conversation with Dan Brown. You can be sure that perked up my ears!

Brett: Fear not, gentle Reader: although the CIA's Kryptos monument had another section partially decrypted _while_ Dan Brown was in the midst of writing _The Lost Symbol_, I'm sure that he had plenty of time to make whatever revisions were necessary to make his manuscript jibe nicely with the new decryption.

getler99: Incidentally, it's not that I am categorically opposed to the idea of Albert Pike's involvement in the KGC; I just have not seen strong evidence in favor of that proposition. (Then again, I haven't read your book yet, either--something I should remedy soon.)

Since, I think, we're both in NYC, drop me a line by e-mail if you'd like to talk things out over lunch sometime.

The pelican-like bird is, indeed, a pelican. The reason it shows up on the 18th Degree jewel is that the pelican--which, mythologically, feeds its young by pecking its own breast and drawing blood for the young to feed on--has been used as a symbol of Christ.

The various degrees of the Scottish Rite draw on a variety of religious and philosophical traditions. The 18th Degree particularly focuses on Christianity.

I'll have more to say on this in my forthcoming book, "The Esoteric Mysteries of Freemasonry," to be released by Tarcher/Penguin in late 2011/early 2012.

Thank you for your question! Good fortune to you in your symbological investigations.

Remember the rules: No profanity, and no personal attacks, especially regarding anyone who has posted a comment. In addition, please do not discuss Masonic passwords or signs of recognition in your comments. Thank you.

The entire content of this blog is Copyright 2009-2013 Mark E. Koltko-Rivera. All Rights Reserved.

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